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Currently Reading:

A Dance with Dragons - George R.R. Martin

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

Most Recently Watched:

The Silver Linings Playbook - in theaters

Hotel Transylvania

Current Obsession:

Hay Day

That's right.  My 5-year-old niece got me addicted to a farm game on the Ipad.  I love it.  I have crops (from carrots to soybeans to chili peppers!), farm animals (sheep, chickens, pigs, and cows!), factories (pie ovens and sugar mills and animal feeds, oh my!), a roadside shop where I get rid of all of my eggs, a boat, and now most recently a cat.  I am even tempted to spend actual money to make my farm look pretty.  I won't though, that's just silly.

But now onto the subject of this post.

A doctor I used to work for would often times lament that there isn't a day dedicated to saying whatever is on your mind no matter who it would offend.  I think I agree.  I would use that mostly to comment on the stupid and inane things people say on Facebook.  I would tell them that they are being stupid and inane.

Since this day does not exist, I'm just going to comment in the privacy of my own blog.

1. " i'm with ya there. I say if your going to live here speak out langung damit, for we have to learn your when we go to your country"

First of all, if you're going to live here and complain about other people "speaking our language," learn to spell it correctly.  At least use proper grammar.  Otherwise I'm going to have to think you're one of those people.  Secondly, us entitled Americans don't learn the language when we visit other countries.  We expect them to speak English.  And they do because they teach foreign languages at a young age and these kids grow up speaking two or three languages all their lives!  We could learn something from them.

2.  "Today's productivity has officially ended... I can't stop watching-- I just love a good filibuster in the morning!"

Yes, because that's how the government should work, by not working.

And to all you people who share and post stupid stuff on your Facebook, do us all a favor and research it first.  No, Morgan Freeman is not dead.  No, Obama doesn't want to take away your guns.  No, 1,000,000,000 likes won't cure cancer.  So just stop it.  Stop it.  Now.

End rant.

Rantings

Currently Reading:
A Feast for Crows - George R.R. Martin
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot

Most Recently Watched:
Rise of the Guardians - in theaters
Elf

Current Obsession:
Politics

I'm on vacation.  It is Saturday morning and instead of sleeping in I decide to blog.  The baby is asleep, Dad is snoring softly, yet I can't shut my mind off enough to get more than 6 hours of sleep.

While nursing the baby early this morning, I made the mistake of checking my Facebook.  Usually I nurse him with my eyes closed, head drooping to my chest, ready to go back to sleep once he's had his fill.  But I came across something that I absolutely had to share and it fired up my neurons enough to wake me up for the day.  But it's worth it, even if no one bothers to enlighten themselves and read it.

My husband and I are Democrats.  We are very, very liberal.  We're not crazy hippie liberal--we're not that intense--but we believe in a lot of things that Conservatives would deem "Socialist" (although I doubt that many actually know what the term means, especially those who call Obama a Socialist Fascist Dictator...he's gotta be one or the other, guys.  Come on.).  When did Socialism get such a bad rep?  Them darn Russians...  But apparently since I like to help people, believe that health care is a right and not a privilege, don't mind sharing my hard-earned money with my country and its people, that makes me a Socialist!

Call me whatever names you'd like, but you wanna know what I find funny?

I am unpatriotic because I want to help my fellow Americans.  YOU are patriotic because you don't believe in government handouts (unless it benefits you, of course).

I am unpatriotic because I believe in a country that provides health care for all of its inhabitants.  YOU are patriotic because health care is a privilege and not a right (until you're in need of it, of course).

I am unpatriotic because I believe love is love and everyone should have the right to get married.  YOU are patriotic AND A GOOD CHRISTIAN because the Bible says that marriage is between man and woman (despite the fact that there's a separation of church and state and a whole other list of arguments).

I am unpatriotic because I don't mind giving a percentage of my income back to the country and back to its people.  YOU are patriotic because that's YOUR hard-earned money and no one else should benefit from it but you and those who make more than enough should get a tax break because they worked hard for that money (and it's so much easier for someone who makes $20,000 a year to live on 80% of their income than it is for someone who makes $200,000 a year to live on just 80% of theirs).

So basically to be a good patriot I have to be...selfish?

One of my biggest pet peeves is hypocrites.  I remember when Democrats were upset after Bush's win the second time around, Republicans told us that criticizing our Commander in Chief was unpatriotic.  Now that Obama has won his second term, those same Republicans are doing exactly what they told us not to.  But now they also have the aid of social media sites like Facebook and Fox News Entertainment to further their fear mongering and propaganda.  Bad news and fear spreads faster and farther than intellect and truth.

Which is what started me off on my political rant this morning.

My husband shared an article on Facebook about the 7 things you should know about Obamacare.  If anyone would care to read the article, here it is:

http://socialreader.com/me/channels/82207/content/Fb53T

I then shared the article on my Facebook as well but with a caption:  Unfortunately I doubt that those confused on the issue will actually read this article. Anything related to health care automatically falls under the Obamacare umbrella.

All right, the rest of the group have woken up including my baby.  It's time to put away the anger sharks (as a member of the group would say) and start enjoying my Saturday.  It snowed!  Time for Baby's first Snow Day!

Motherhood

Currently Reading:
A Feast for Crows - George R.R. Martin
A Storm of Swords - George R.R. Martin (out loud to Ryan)

Most Recently Watched:
Beasts of the Southern Wild - in theaters
The Dictator

Current Obsession:
Tyler Hansen Aman

I should update this thing more regularly than in quarterly intervals.  Things happen though, like having a baby, that keeps me pretty busy.

So much has happened since Tyler's been born.  He turned 3 months just last week and I can't believe how much bigger he's already gotten.  He's now twice the size he was when he entered this world!

Our baby boy was born June 17 at 12:45AM, Father's Day!

My water had actually broke the Friday before but I hadn't realized it.  We were told that if your water breaks it either comes out in a gush or in a constant trickling.  I didn't have either of that.  We had a birthday dinner to attend at Bomb's Away so we decided to go to that and bring our hospital bag just in case my water really did break.  After dinner I went to the bathroom to check and nothing, I was completely dry.  So we figured it was a false alarm.  We then went to Market of Choice to buy some raspberry tea since we heard it could sometimes speed up the process.  Ryan made me drink a large portion that night.  That was unnecessary.

At 4AM I got up to use the bathroom.  More trickling.  I went to bed and said to Ryan, "More water.  Maybe my water did break."

Then we went back to bed.

Got up again at 7, did my business, stood up and pulled up on my pants and this time I felt it rush out.  Once again, no gush, but that definitely wasn't normal.  Excited, I went back into our bedroom and I told Ryan that today was the day...I think.  It could possibly be a false alarm and I didn't want to alarm anyone so we calmly took a shower and got our bags ready (again) and as we were heading out the door we tell Ryan's parents, yeah, we're heading out to the hospital.  We might be having a baby.

I knew that if we did end up delivering that day that I wouldn't get to eat so we stopped by Market of Choice again and I ate breakfast.  Looking back on all of this, I can't believe we were so calm and nonchalant about it all.  I had expected things to be much more chaotic.

We strolled into the hospital, told them that we suspected my water had broke, and they took us up into the maternity ward.

A couple of months before we had done a hospital tour just to familiarize ourselves with the procedures and the facility.  They showed us all of the rooms including the tiniest room they have that they liked to use only as a last resort.  I remember looking at Ryan and saying that with our luck we would end up in that room.  But we were assured that no one had delivered in that room for years.

We ended up in that room.

It was a busy weekend, 5 other pregnant women had come that day to deliver, including one of our close friends!  They had gone in on Friday (she started having contractions while they were in the theater watching "Prometheus," needless to say they never finished the movie...) and baby Declan was on his way!  But that meant we got stuck in the teeny tiny room.

When we got there, a woman was delivering in the room next to us and literally howling in pain.  I had no idea what that sound was at first and when I asked Ryan he told me that someone was singing.  I told him that they weren't singing very well.  Then I heard, "Owwww, owowowowwwww!"  She was having a baby!  It sounded very painful!!!  We were later told that she came in with no seconds to spare so they weren't able to give her anything for the pain, she was doing it all on her own.  If I had any doubts about the epidural, that woman cleared them all away.  I was definitely getting the epidural.

We were still unsure if we we really were in labor so the nurse came in and did a swab.  At 10:00AM she announced that we were having a baby!  Right away we called our parents and everyone began preparing their arrivals.

Despite the fact that I was having consistent contractions, I hardly felt anything.  Even with contractions that registered at high levels, all I felt was a slight pressure.  I thought to myself, This is easy!  Who said contractions were painful?

And then the doctor came in to examine me.  She explained that my water had broken high up, which is why not much had come out.  She decided that it needed to break even further and did so manually.  Now that was a real gush.  And then the pain came.  No more easy contractions for me.

It was 4PM when they decided to give me Pitocin.  4:30PM I got the epidural.  Declan had already been born and we thought Tyler would join his BFF-to-be that same day.  At 6PM I got to move into one of the delivery suites, so much nicer than the broom closet I was originally in.  And there I stayed all night waiting for the contractions to get closer together.  At one point they needed to give me another dose of the epidural and I was given a bit too much and I wasn't quite elevated enough so I had absolutely no feeling up to my neck.

It wasn't until midnight that Tyler was ready to go.  After a quick 30 minutes of pushing, we had our baby.

It is such an intense feeling holding your baby for the first time.  You get such a rush of emotions--instant love, a flutter of worry (is he okay?  What if he doesn't like me?  Why doesn't he stop crying?), relief that it's all over...  It's pretty amazing.  Sometimes I look at Tyler and I can't believe that he's the same baby.  Like right now.  As I'm writing this, Tyler is hanging out in his "bed," sucking on his thumb, and making funny little squirmy noises.  I have such a vocal baby!!  It's crazy thinking that just three months ago he was a tiny little guy, super scrawny, who slept most of the time.  Now he's plumped out and so much more interactive.  He's just perfect.

I didn't think that I would blog about the delivery today.  But that's what my fingers wanted to type.  But now I'm going to play with my baby and change his diaper.  Apparently the squirmy noises were to help move his BM along.  I'm not looking forward to that diaper...

Baby

Currently Reading:

American Gods - Neil Gaiman

The Girl Who Played with Fire - Stieg Larrson

(and several other books...I really need to finish what I start)

Most Recently Watched:

Dr. Seuss' The Lorax - in theaters

Pleasantville

Current Obsession:

Tyler Hansen Aman

It's been a while since I've updated this blog. Nearly a year, actually. A lot has happened in that almost year.

- Ryan graduated from OSU with a degree in Environmental Science

- He is currently working as a Project Manager for his dad's solar panel company and working at a pediatric clinic

- We moved out of our beloved townhouse, bid adieu to our many roommates, and moved in with Ryan's parents

- We went to Maui with some of our closest friends and had one of my most favorite vacations ever

And we're having a baby.

That's the first picture of our little Tyler. He was a cute little sea monkey! There are more ultrasound pictures but we did not take pictures of them so I can't upload them now. The most recent picture is hanging up on the fridge but I'm too lazy to get off the couch to snap a photo. I have a good excuse. I'm pregnant. :)

So far everything has been great! The first trimester was awful, I was sick for most of it though I only threw up once. But the constant nausea was horrible and I relied on ginger and saltine crackers. I'm not too fond of either now. I couldn't stand the smell of garlic or cooked onions, thank goodness that's over. My love for garlic has returned!

The second trimester has been much nicer. Though my skin hasn't gotten the "pregnancy glow" that everyone keeps talking about. I break out a whole lot more. I feel like my skin has reverted back to its middle school days. Maybe it'll go away once I hit the third trimester.

Tyler has been kicking a whole lot more. I didn't feel much until week 16 or 17. I was getting a little nervous since my other pregnant friends had very rowdy babies and were moving around a whole bunch. But I guess Tyler is a calm child, which will be nice if he continues to be nice and calm when he gets here. I hope that means he'll sleep through the night!

But Ryan and I are super excited for him. Hopefully we'll be able to move out before Tyler pops out. I want my own space to decorate, have our things out, get Tyler's nursery ready (it's a sailboat theme since his Daddy likes to sail so much, and it's super cute!)...I think the nesting feelings are kicking in. We would love to buy a house but with Ryan's job prospects still up in the air we'll have to put those plans on hold. I don't mind renting for a while but moving out definitely needs to happen. It's been wonderful living with Ryan's parents, we all get along nicely, we have family dinners and family time often, and it's definitely been a help financially. But once again, I really want my own space. I miss my couch, my kitchen appliances, my books that I've put in storage...I want to hang up artwork and pictures...I want to buy a house. But I'll be patient. Patience is a virtue, so I've been told.

So that's basically it. We're just waiting for Tyler to make his way into the world and looking to set up residence somewhere, even if it's temporary. He's been cooking during the strangest winter season that Oregon has seen. We have nearly a foot of snow today and it's March 22nd! We shouldn't be getting this much snow so close to April! But I don't mind it. It's beautiful, I took a day off, so now I get to stay home and enjoy the winter wonderland with a cup of hot chocolate. And some episodes of "The River."

Cancelled

Currently Reading:

The Fall – Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

The Girl Who Played with Fire - Stieg Larsson

Most Recently Watched:

Insidious – in theaters

Sherlock Holmes

Current Obsession:

Cooking

"Perfect Couples" got cancelled.

Is anyone else upset as I am? I didn't care for the pilot and hadn't planned on watching the show (mainly due to my hatred of Olivia Munn) but the masterminds at NBC sandwiched the show between "Community" and "The Office" and because I'm too lazy to turn the channel I watched it. And I fell in love.

The show is hilarious! I don't identify with any of the couples, unlike Marshall and Lily from "How I Met Your Mother" (are they spying on Ryan and I? They might be with all the disgunstingly cute couple-y things that Ryan and I do that Marshall and Lily also do). But I feel like a little part of me is in all of those characters. And they've grown on me. Even Leigh whom I was expecting to dislike, she is now one of my favorite characters. Olivia Munn, I misjudged you. You are adorable and funny, so much more now than when you were on G4.

And now instead of "Perfect Couples" we're getting some Paul Reiser show. I never watched "Mad About You," I never cared for the show, and now I'm quite disgruntled that this 90s has-been is replacing "Perfect Couples" and ruining my Thursday night line-up!

NBC, don't take "Perfect Couples" away from me! You teased me with "Parks & Recreation," don't do it again!

Sigh. I need more in life than television.

Dreamy

Currently Reading:

The Fall – Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

Never Let Me Go – Kazuo Ishiguro

Most Recently Watched:

Insidious – in theaters

Inception

Current Obsession:

Leonardo DiCaprio

It's kind of silly but I pride myself in "discovering" underrated and/or overlooked talent. Ryan and I were lobbying for Obama when he was still just a senator in Illinois before the presidential race began. I recognized Heath Ledger's acting ability in "Monster's Ball" before anyone else took him seriously (RIP Heath, I still love you). And I remained steadfast in my love for Leonardo DiCaprio while the rest of the world mocked him for his performances in "Romeo + Juliet" and "Titanic."

I wasn't like the other 8th grade girls. While they were swooning after Leo, printing pictures of him off of our school computers and covering their binders with his black and white face. They fell in love with Romeo, his sensitivity, his squinty-eyed good looks. I fell in love with his acting chops. Though I didn't mind the looks.

Leo had been on my radar since joining the "Growing Pains" cast. I thought he was super cute and such a contrast to Kirk Cameron's curly-haired goody-two-shoes Christian exterior. Luke had a bad streak that I found quite attractive.

After graduating from television, Leo moved on to movies such as "This Boy's Life," "The Basketball Diaries," and his Oscar-nominated "What's Eating Gilbert Grape." Despite critically acclaimed performances in all three of these, Leo didn't make an impression to the American public until "Romeo + Juliet" in 1996.

While girls everywhere gave their heart to Leo, the media made fun of his new heartthrob persona. It got even worse when he came out with "Titanic" a year later. Despite winning an Oscar for Best Picture, people still call it the most overrated movie of all-time. I agree that not every Oscar winner is fully deserving (come on, "Shakespeare in Love" over "Saving Private Ryan?" Or worse, "Crash" over "Brokeback Mountain?" What???) but "Titanic" still has its merits and Leo deserved more recognition than what he received.

Thankfully his movie choices lately have completely redeemed himself reaffirmed my support for him as an actor. And who am I kidding, he's so cute!

Now I am using my ability of seeking out mainstream actors and seeing their potential to promote Ben Affleck and his, hopefully, rising career.

I've loved Ben since the very beginning, when he was prancing around in Kevin Smith movies like "Mallrats" and "Chasing Amy." Then he and best friend Matt Damon wrote and starred in "Good Will Hunting" and exploded into stardom. After a string of bad movie choices ("Pearl Harbor" and "Gigli" nearly destroying his career), Ben became the joke of Hollywood.

But lately he's been picking his career back up. It all started with "Hollywoodland." His performance as the tragically fated George Reeves pricked the interest of critics and garnered some award show buzz (no Oscar nomination but he did get a nod for a Golden Globe Award). He then made his directing debut with "Gone Baby Gone" (starring his younger brother Casey, whom I am also quite fond of) and received a handful of directing awards. Though not blockbusters, Ben took roles in some fairly critically favorable films such as "State of Play" and "The Company Men." But I believe it is "The Town" that is marking his turnaround.

Following the steps of Orson Welles, Ben wrote (with assistance), directed, and starred in "The Town" and I think the end product was a winner. He was able to pull some beautiful performances out of Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall, and Jon Hamm (though many people would say that isn't so hard considering the caliber of the actors' talents), wrote a decent screenplay, and delivered a believable and heartfelt performance.

He's been accused of being a wooden actor before but I would like to refer those same accusers to movies such as "The Town," "Hollywoodland," and my all-time favorite Ben Affleck film "Chasing Amy." But perhaps I'm biased since I still enjoy his performance in well-pandered films such as "Armageddon" and "Jersey Girl." It really wasn't that bad, people!

Maybe he'll never reach the acting capacity that Leo has (and he truly is amazing, his performance in "The Basketball Diaries" was heartbreaking, I don't know why it took me so long to finally see it), but Ben deserves that second chance. He's not Matt Damon's dopey best friend who tacked on his own name to an award-winning script, Ben Affleck is a writer of his own accord. He's not just a pretty face with a chiseled chin and dreamy eyes, he can deliver a line. I have faith in Ben and someday he'll reaffirm my love for him, just like Leo did.

I love you Ben Affleck!

By the way, have you ever seen my "Hennifer" Lopez hand puppet imitation? I stole it from "South Park" but I think I managed to make it mine.

Tacos and burritos!

Photo from www.tvguide.com.

Impressed

Currently Reading:

The Fall – Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

Never Let Me Go – Kazuo Ishiguro

Most Recently Watched:

Insidious – in theaters

Trick 'r Treat

Current Obsession:

Thai food

Last night the husband and I traveled to Eugene with two of our closest friends for a community production of "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" as well as dinner. Our restaurant of choice was Sweet Basil, a Thai restaurant that was ranked #2 out of 144 Eugene restaurants on TripAdvisor. If you don't already know this about me, I am a huge believer in TripAdvisor. It is very rare for me to find a highly ranked restaurant or hotel on the site that doesn't live up to expectations.

Although the amount of restaurants (listed on the site) in Eugene more than doubles what we have in Corvallis (a measly 65), I haven't yet been too impressed with their dining options. Granted my culinary visits have been few, especially compared to all of the dining that we've done in Corvallis or even Portland. So I was excited to try a new restaurant (then again, I am always excited for new dining adventures!) and my expectations were that much higher considering their TripAdvisor rank.

I am happy to announce that they exceeded my expectations.

Sweet Basil is a Thai restaurant but unlike your stereotypical Thai establishment. We have a couple of restaurants here in town and while the food is delicious, the atmosphere is homey, cozy, and quaint. Sweet Basil displayed a menu complete with your usual Thai fare (Pad Thai, Mussamun curry, etc.) but they also had more creative dishes such as Spicy Sea Scallops or Three Flavor Halibut. They also had a flare for presentation.

This was an appetizer so aptly named "Oh My God." It is a fried tortilla roll stuffed with imitation crab, basil and cream cheese served with a homemade Sriracha sauce. And it came to us on fire. It was an exciting plate, not just to see but to eat. And it was the perfect start to a delicious meal and a fantastic night with friends.

It's days like these when I really love life. Good food, good friends, and now good night!

Photo from www.sweetbasileug.com.